Mother 'cleared Jackson': report

The mother of Michael Jackson's accuser reportedly signed an affidavit clearing the pop star of wrongdoing - but now says she was confused and coerced.

"They made her sign papers but she didn't know what she was signing," a source close to the boy's family told the New York Daily News today.

Jackson's handlers prepared the affidavit in February - after the broadcast of an explosive documentary in which he admitted he sleeps in the same bed with young boys.

The 12-year-old cancer survivor spotlighted in the film became the target of cruel teasing by his schoolmates after it aired, the source said. And when his worried mother took the family to Neverland to complain to Jackson about the footage, the singer became alarmed, she told the source.

"Michael got them passports and they were trying to send them out of the country," the insider said. "They told them they had to stay (at Neverland). They didn't feel they could leave."

Ultimately, an investigator working for Jackson taped the boy and his mother praising the pop star, even calling him a "father figure", it was reported.

That's also when the affidavit saying Jackson never mistreated the boy was signed.

ABC News obtained the audiotaped statement from a source close to Jackson's defence - which could use the recording to attack the child's credibility.

It's believed the boy's molestation claim did not surface until after the tape was made, when his mother learned Jackson had given him wine during sleepovers at Neverland. She contacted a lawyer - the same attorney who won a $US20 million ($A27.72 million) settlement for another 13-year-old who accused Jackson of molestation in 1993.

The boy was referred to a therapist, who then reported the alleged abuse to police.

Last week, after a dramatic raid on Neverland and other locations, Jackson surrendered to police on molestation charges. He has vigorously denied the allegations and his attorney vowed to crush anyone who attacks Jackson's reputation.

Already, the prosecutor has had to backpedal a bit. Santa Barbara District Attorney Tom Sneddon apologised for joking about Jackson's music and "Wacko Jacko" nickname at a news conference and in an interview.

"It was inappropriate," he admitted on CNN. "It was unprofessional (and) I was immediately sorry for it."